Mishawaka Res seeks help to replace two ailing foot bridges, to keep access to 23 acres

MISHAWAKA — The Mishawaka Res public nature preserve has launched a 60-day crowdfunding campaign to rebuild two aged and weakened pedestrian bridges over the winding, steelhead-supporting Eller Ditch.

Without the bridges, visitors would lose access to 23 acres of dirt trails, woods, cabins and camping facilities that Scouts and other groups often use in a nook of the city just southeast of Indiana 331 and Lincoln Way.

But, in the campaign, The Res hopes that the $15,000 it raises — with an equal match from the state — could build more “bridges” to community members, board President Jake Crawford said.

The $15,000, if raised by Feb. 4, would draw a match from the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority through its CreatINg Places grant.

Crawford knows that grant program and its campaigns through Patronicity.com since he’d used it to build an educational greenhouse for the Mishawaka Parks Department, where he is the landscape manager and urban forester.

2018 project: Mishawaka students help to crowdsource for new community greenhouse

The two bridges include the largest and most prominent one, built by two teenagers in 1994 for an Eagle Scout project, which is nearest to the Jernigan Lodge, along with a smaller bridge that’s approached via steps. The smaller bridge is now closed because of its poor condition, Res Ranger and Director Kiera Johns said.

The bridges are having trouble bearing weight.

“They can handle very small groups, but if there were, say, an entire wedding party of 20-plus on there, that would be risky,” Johns said.

Weddings are often celebrated at The Res, including Crawford’s marriage in 2019.

Johns said there’s been a lot of decay in the bridges’ wood thanks to evaporation, condensation and freezing from the creek. Metal parts are rusting. And soil around the bridges is eroding, she said, adding, “The stability is literally being washed away.”

The combined $30,000 would pay for the blueprints and materials. Crawford said some materials will be donated from the old Dodge plant in Mishawaka. Johns said volunteers from the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves would do the construction, hoping to complete the bridges in 2024.

Aug. 2, 2023: AmeriCorps team tackles invasives, projects at Mishawaka Res and parks

AmeriCorps members tore down a third pedestrian bridge that was in bad shape, also small, this past summer. Johns said it won’t be replaced since it isn’t a priority.

By getting in-kind donations and working with local organizations, Crawford said, it will build “professional relationships that last.”

“The Res plans to come out of this project with closer ties to our community and will have a new bridge to help us deliver quality programing and experiences to the community for years to come,” he said.

To learn more and make a donation, visit https://www.patronicity.com/project/building_bridges_at_the_res#!/.

Donations may also be mailed to The Res at 13950 Scout Lane, Mishawaka, IN 46544. Look for signs to The Res from Lincoln Way just east of Indiana 331.

South Bend Tribune reporter Joseph Dits can be reached at 574-235-6158 or jdits@sbtinfo.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: The Mishawaka Res crowdfunding to replace nature preserve foot bridges